Escape
by Seta Kaede
Summary: REPOSTED! Lance Angst! Lance is hiding a secret, will the other brotherhood members and the X-men be able to get Lance out, or will be be trapped forever?
1. Default Chapter

Escape  
  
Lance grimaced in pain as he slowly applied the healing cream to the deep bruises that littered his chest, arms, legs, his entire body was different shades of purple, green, yellow, blue, and other colors which have no place on the human body.  
  
Where there were not bruises he was scarred, long ones, short ones, there was no place empty of them, not even his hands had escaped, though luckily the gloves he always wore hid them well.  
  
His wrists and ankles were torn and abraded and he didn't even want to consider what his back must look like. Absently he ran his fingers across the small scar that slashed through his left eyebrow, his low bangs hid it very well.  
  
He had just returned from another session with Magneto, his body hurt in so many places and in so many ways he could barely walk, but he knew he had to, no matter what pain raced along his spine.  
  
He gulped down six aspirin to try and quell the rocketing pain. It had been one month since Magneto had stolen what was most precious to him and turned him into something he had never wanted to become. Lance wasn't an evil person, just a teenager trying to find his path in the world.  
  
Lance stopped for a moment as he considered his last thought, perhaps he was evil, maybe this was God's idea of punishment, and could he really call himself a teenager?  
  
He was a father figure to a very messed up speed demon and a disturbed 14 year old, any traces of innocence that he had, or any remnants of a true teenager had been ripped away by Magneto. Lance suddenly collapsed to the bathroom floor and rocked himself back and forth as silent tears rolled down his face, he had learned long ago how to be silent in his anguish, he would never want Todd or Pietro to find out what he had become.  
  
Fred had left them, headed back to his home town, where at least they respected him as a freak. Since then it had just been the three boys in the boarding house, Todd and Pietro had enough problems in their own lives, and they depended upon him to be sturdy like the earth that he commanded.  
  
Neither of them knew about the double life that he now led, or the new powers which were starting to emerge within his body, new powers that both terrified and thrilled him. He stroked the smooth metal band around his neck, it had no crease or latch since Magneto had simply made it stretch and then tighten.  
  
He ran his fingers down the letters that Magneto had imprinted upon it to remind him of what he was. He did this as he thought about how his old life had ended a new one, a terrifying one, had begun...  
  
Flashback – One Month Previous  
  
Lance was curled up on the couch in the living room of the boarding house reading a book, despite what everyone, especially those X-geeks, thought he was a very intelligent young man. The other members of the Brotherhood were out doing something, Pietro was most likely working, and Todd was also probably working, though what he did was not necessarily considered legal.  
  
Lance was happy, he finally had a day off from work, he worked in Farrisburgh, which was just outside Bayville, close enough to get to, but far enough away that it was very unlikely he would ever see anyone he would know. He was currently reading an old favorite, one of the few things left over from before the long string of foster homes that he was in, a very worn and torn version of Crime and Punishment. (irony alert!! irony alert!!)  
  
Lance had read the book so many times he could nearly recite it front to back, Lance had always loved reading, the only ones who knew about this secret fetish were Todd and Pietro, and if they dared to utter a word to anyone they knew Lance would rock their world, quite literally.  
  
He barely looked up as he heard the front door open and close with a bang and called out, "Don't slam the door you guys! Some of us are trying to read!"  
  
He was chuckling to himself when he heard an answer, but it was not Todd or Pietro, nor even one of the X-geeks, "I would advise you not to try and tell me what to do Avalanche, after all I do believe I own this place."  
  
Lance glanced up, quickly realizing who had just entered, he jumped up from the couch dropping his book behind him, "Ummm, Magneto sir what brings you here?" Lance shifted nervously from side to side, Magneto had always made him nervous, the way his eyes seemed to bore into him, to strip him down, made him shudder.  
  
Slowly a rather dark and vicious smirk came across Magneto's face, his eyes were like two shards of blue ice and they held an emotion that Lance could not identify, though it terrified him to his very bones.  
  
Lance flinched as he felt Magneto's fingers trail down his cheek, "I have been thinking that it is time for this arrangement to change."  
  
"What arrangement Sir?" Lance decided to be doubly polite hoping that perhaps it would hold off whatever was about to happen.  
  
"My son and Toad are of no use in any fight, I wish to dispose of them, perhaps give them to the Acolytes for some fun, if they survive then they obviously are stronger then I thought, if they die, well then no great loss."  
  
A regal shrug was given wit the last statement, Lance couldn't believe that this man could be that heartless! Especially to his own son, Lance now had a better understanding of why Wanda wanted to kill the man whose blood flowed through her veins, it was too bad she was not there at that moment. "Magneto, sir, you can't do that, please!!!!"  
  
Lance's voice was high and panicked as he looked into Magneto's eyes, "And how in the world would you be able to stop me, boy?"  
  
The ground started to move beneath them as Lance got angry and Magneto raised an arm and backhanded Lance sending him to the floor. "Stop that foolishness now, or I will kill those two pathetic mutants myself!"  
  
Lance slowly brought himself back as the ground stopped its violent motions. Magneto leaned down and ran a hand through Lance's hair and pulled him up as he winced in pain, "If you do exactly what I say, I will let those two worthless ones live, and no harm will come to them, but if you disobey me, you will have hell to pay."  
  
Lance nodded slowly, thinking perhaps joining the X-Men was not such a bad idea after all, but then they would never accept them after everything they had done, the many times they had battled against each other, no, all he could do was protect those who needed him.  
  
Magneto gave a chuckle as he watched Lance agree, "Well then, come along boy." Magneto flicked his wrist and a silver ball appeared, obviously he had been planning this all along.  
  
"Just let me write a note to say I will be back" Lance turned to walk away and was struck from behind, "Did I give you permission to turn your back on me boy?"  
  
Magneto hissed in his ear as he threw him in the pod, "Well, Answer me" "No you didn't" Lance moaned in pain as Magneto kicked him in his side, "No what, boy?" "No Sir, you didn't"  
  
Magneto motioned for the pod to close and turned back, "Learn your place and we will get on splendidly, now just in case you forget..."  
  
Before Lance could even move a piece of titanium flew from the edge of the pod and wrapped itself around his neck, forming a collar, he could feel the words being imprinted upon it by Magneto's power: PROPERTY OF ERIC LENCHER.  
  
"What the fuck are you....." Lance's statement was cut off as the band suddenly tightened around his neck cutting of his air.  
  
He gasped gulps as it loosened. "Speak with respect boy, to your new Master."  
  
Magneto glanced at the clock, "A pity we do not have more time, the others will be back soon, but do not worry I will be back and you will be waiting for me, and I suggest unless you want them to see your new accessory you go find a shirt with a high neck."  
  
With a laugh Magneto dumped Lance backing front of the house and left, leaving him to wonder what the hell he had just gotten himself into...."  
  
End Flashback  
  
Lance laughed bitterly as he remembered that day, "Oh, if only it had stopped there, but no fate has always hated me, so why should this part of my life suddenly change?"  
  
He heard the back door open and close, he quickly wiped his eyes and straightened his clothes, he let out a steadying breath as he walked downstairs to greet those who he hoped would never know he was protecting them, he hid his pain behind the mask again as he threw out what would seem like a casual question to the two. "Hey guys, how was school?"  
  
Tbc......... 


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2  
  
Pietro glanced up as he grabbed a soda out of the fridge, he noted the red eyes and streaks down Lance's face, but he let it slide figuring it was something personal that really was none of his business.  
  
"Same as usual, avoided the X-geeks, tried not to be completely and utterly bored in all my classes, same old, same old. Thank God it's Friday." Pietro guzzled the soda as he noted the difference in the way Lance was dressing and acting lately, all he had worn was long sleeve turtleneck sweaters, slacks and his gloves. His hair was cut shorter like right around his ears and the bangs fell over his eyes.  
  
Today he was dressed in a hunter green long sleeve turtleneck with brown chinos that matched his gloves and brown worker boots. His hair was intentionally messy, giving him the look that he had simply run his fingers through it, though he probably had since it was Lance and all.  
  
"So, lets hear your brilliant excuse as to why you skipped school today." Pietro smirked as he waited for some vastly exaggerated lie about the bubonic plague or something, what he didn't expect was Lance to pale deeply and try to change the subject,  
  
"Ummmm, where's Todd, huh Pietro, you know he doesn't like to walk by himself." "I knowwww but he just had to stay after for some extra credit so he can pass Geometry, okay?" Lance nodded and Pietro, having already forgotten Lance's near slipup went upstairs to find something to do.  
  
Lance sagged against the counter, believing Pietro was oblivious to what had been happening in the last month. Suddenly Lance heard a small ping against the door, he hoped that it was merely a message, because he wasn't sure if he could survive Magneto after the previous day and night, he shivered as he thought of the long, long night that never seemed to end.  
  
He opened the door and was relieved to see that for once fortune had been with him, and it was just a note, he removed the small metal spike that adhered folded note, addressed to him, and a bag, against the door. He opened the note and began to read:  
  
Rocky, (Lance sneered at the way Magneto addressed the letter, he had almost preferred when he had called him boy, at least then when others called him by the nickname he wouldn't be reminded of things better left forgotten, of course that might have been the point all along. Lance mused on this idea as he continued reading.)  
  
I will be at the boarding house at 1 PM tomorrow, unless you wish the other two to see your true purpose you will find a way to clear them out. There is some money in the bag to further that end. I expect you to be ready and waiting for me, there are clothes in the bag. You will be wearing them tomorrow to train.  
  
The note was unsigned, because who else would it be from? Lance sighed as he opened the bag, not really wanting to see what the bag contained, obviously if the clothes contained metal then Magneto would be able to control what he did and how he moved.  
  
He peered in the bag and saw a pair of long pants and a long sleeved shirt, perhaps it wouldn't be that bad after all. He then pulled out the wad of bills that was stuffed down in it and counted it quickly.  
  
Lance smiled hoping he was right, maybe this really wouldn't be the worst, he hurriedly stuffed the bag under the counter as he heard Todd come in, "Hey Todd, what do you have planned for tomorrow?"  
  
Todd looked up, obviously in his own world as he entered the boarding house, "Tomorrow yo? Uh, nothin' I think, why?" "Well, I just got paid and there are few errands that I need you to run, can you do it?" Todd scrunched his face up as he considered his options, either hang around the boarding house all day and be bored out of his skull, or go run errands and perhaps sneak some money for a treat. "Sure Lance, no prob, but why can't you do them?"  
  
"I gotta work tomorrow, do you think that the money just falls out of the sky?" Todd blushed as he realized what a idiotic question he had just asked. He used his long tongue to grab a bottle of water on the counter and hopped into the living room.  
  
Lance turned away and rolled his eyes, he had quit his job two weeks ago, Magneto could come any time and he was always expected to be available for him. You couldn't really do that and work a 30 to 40 hours a week like he had been.  
  
He was probably still lucky that Magneto let him go to school most of the time. Luckily, if anything in his life could be considered lucky, Magneto would occasionally send money with the messages so that he could keep up the charade of having an actual job.  
  
Now he had Todd out of the house, he just had to make sure he gave him a very long list of errands to run. The only other person left to worry about was Pietro. How in the hell was he going to convince the speed demon to disappear for the day?  
  
Suddenly his problem solved itself when Pietro appeared in front of him dropping the news that helped to lighten his heart, "Lance I am going to the mall tomorrow, expect me back around 8 o'clock." With that Pietro left with what was a leisurely pace for him. Lance just shook his head, he would never understand how Pietro could spend so much time at the mall, but he always managed to.  
  
Lance breathed a sigh of relief knowing that there was no way either of the other two would walk in tomorrow, he could at least relax in that aspect. He shook his head as he snatched a book off the table, trying to banish any thoughts about what tomorrow would bring.  
  
He glanced down at the title as he headed up to his room, now locked 24/7 because of the new additions that Magneto had added. A hard dry chuckle, the closest thing to a laugh that he possessed anymore, emerged from Lance's throat as he saw the title of the book he was carrying, The Waiting Game. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3  
  
The next day dawned much the way that Lance was feeling, cold, gray, and utterly dismal. Lance let out a sigh as he looked up at the sky, for once he wished that he was weather witch, no wait, a weather wizard so he change days like this. A deep sigh and a small smirk were the only answer he gave to these thoughts. The smirk soon died as he looked down at his watch.  
  
It was almost noon and he had just sent Toad out on the errands, so he was gone for at least five hours, not including time spent treating himself. Pietro had already disappeared, Lance had just enough time to go upstairs and get ready before Magneto; Lance violently shook his head as he corrected himself, before Lord Magneto arrived at the boarding house. He really must stop using his name without the Lord, every time he thought it, it had a chance of escaping and Lord Magneto would not be pleased.  
  
Lance retreated back to the kitchen and pulled out the bag of clothes that he had hidden under the sink as he went upstairs to change. He unlocked the door to his room and stepped inside, shivering at the cold aura this formerly comforting place now gave off.  
  
The wooden floor was the only thing that had survived the changes Lord Magneto had made. There was a metal desk in the corner covered with papers that were not Lance's, and which Lance had not yet worked up the courage to look at. A large bed in the middle of the floor dominated the room, it looked like a normal four poster bed except for the fact it was made out of iron, he shivered as he remembered how the tall posts could bend and wrap around his hands and legs like ropes.  
  
The only things that identified the room as Lance's were the clothes in the closet and some books sitting on a bookshelf in the corner.  
  
Very carefully Lance laid out the shirt and pants on the bed, next to a pair of boots and some wrist cuffs that matched the one around his neck. He did all this not looking at the walls or floor where there were splashes of bright coloring marring the whiteness. After everything was laid out he took a quick shower and set to work on his appearance.  
  
Magneto did not like the grunge look that Lance had so adored, so the long hair had long ago been shorn off leaving a neat and tidy trim in its place which Lance carefully dried and combed into a style that slightly echoed Scott Summers, as much as he refused to admit it.  
  
The clothes that he laid out were then pulled on, his boots zipped up, and the wristcuffs snapped over the sleeves of the shirt. The pants and shirt fit him nearly like a second skin insuring that Magneto could basically control his movements. Checking the time Lance realized that he had just enough left to make sure nothing was wrong, he walked over to the mirror one last time sighing as he saw his reflection.  
  
If not for the black color of the clothes it would hardly seem like he was wearing anything at all, the pants cut low across the hips secured with a metal buckle and the shirt came all the way the collar around his neck, metal snaps trailing down the middle of it.  
  
Proceeding downstairs Lance sat on the couch to wait, he was too anxious to read so he simply watched the clock, it was 12:55 when he noticed the metal snaps on his clothes starting to stand up and heard the front door creak open slowly; his lord had arrived.  
  
Lance rose off the couch and proceeded to the front entrance of the boarding house. He stood like a soldier at attention by the stairs, except for the fact his head was bowed and his eyes trained on a spot on the floor in front of him.  
  
Lance listened as the footsteps drew closer and stopped in front of him, he looked at the dark boots on the mans feet as he spoke words that had long ago become automatic to him, "Greetings Lord Magneto, I hope the trip was uneventful."  
  
He tensed hoping to get an idea of the mood that the mutant in front of him was in, good, bad, or downright horrible? Lance stood very still for what seemed like an eternity before he received an answer to his silent question.  
  
Suddenly he felt himself being thrown against the wall so hard that the entire house shook, Lord Magneto had not moved simply using the metals woven into the fabric to his best advantage. Lance looked up at him dazed, and trying to get back a little of the breath that had been so harshly knocked out of him. He let his eyes drift off to the side and waited for an order to be given, he had learned long ago that when Lord Magneto was in a mood like this he shouldn't speak unless spoken to, it would only anger him.  
  
As suddenly as he had been thrown the pressure holding him to the wall was released and Lance fell; he hissed in pain as he landed on healing bruises and cuts which were reopened as he slammed to the wooden floor.  
  
Hard hands grasped his chin and he soon found himself looking into two blue ice chips. "I see I may have to be a little more gentle with my favorite pet, can't have you being broken now, can I?"  
  
Lance gave a small smile as he answered, "You are most kind, my lord."  
  
Lord Magneto leaned closer as he whispered in his ear, "You are of course going to repay me for this kindness in spades, isn't that right Rocky?"  
  
Lance couldn't look away as his chin was still held by forceful fingers so he simply nodded and spoke, "Yes my lord."  
  
Lord Magneto kept staring into his eyes, he wanted to flinch away from the dark abyss he saw lurking behind those blue eyes, but his remaining pride refused to allow him this. The older mutant uttered a low dark laugh as he let go and stood back up, "It is good to see you are not fully broken Rocky, you are much to fun to play with, sadly I do not have the time today. I have come to tell you that you are going on a mission with the Acolytes and Mystique."  
  
Lance gulped as he looked up and stuttered, "A...All the A...Acolytes, my l...lord?" He did not mind going anywhere with Mystique, he actually wouldn't mind seeing the blue shape shifter again, she had her moments of kindness, however, the Acolytes were a different story, Lance shuddered as he remembered a punishment from Lord Magneto involving a certain feral mutant.  
  
"Yes my pet, all of them, including Sabertooth, it will be entertaining to see how you handle yourself around him, he did so enjoy the time he spent with you." A dark grin covered Lord Magneto's face as he watched Lance try not to shudder from the memories. "You will not say a word to Mystique and the other two are going as well, remember, if you do anything to jeopardize me I will kill them, no questions."  
  
Lance looked down as he responded, "Of course my lord, when do we leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow morning Pyro will come to pick you up, do not displease me Rocky." Saying this Lord Magneto pulled up Lance and pinned him to the wall quickly assaulting his mouth.  
  
Lance obediently kept still as his mouth was plundered. Magneto reluctantly released his hold as looked at the young mutant and could still taste him on his tongue. "Sadly, I cannot continue this today, but I will see you when you return, you know the consequences for failure."  
  
He swept regally out the door leaving a crouched Lance to rise and put on the mask that the others would expect to see when they arrived back. A few silent tears drifted down his cheeks each sounding like a loud slap as they hit the floor in the now quiet house. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chap 4  
  
When the other two mutants arrived back at the boarding house later that night they found Lance curled on the couch reading yet another new book. He seemed to go through them like wildfire, every time you turned around it seemed as though he was reading a new one, many of which were classics.  
  
At the boarding house Lance's mask of ignorance and immaturity disappeared, and he gave a sense of innate intelligence and maturity; both self-taught, and something he had been forced to learn at the end of his remarkably short childhood.  
  
Lance had lived on his own since he was 13 so he had become rather a good cook; therefore he often got drafted into cooking dinner for the others. A little later the three settled down to some spaghetti and Lance told them the safe version of what had happened that day; saying that Magneto had stopped in and told him about the mission.  
  
"So, fath...Magneto wants us to go on a mission with the Acolytes, and Mystique? I wonder what he could be thinking, this is really unusual, even for him. I mean either we go by ourselves or with Mystique, but never with the Acolytes." Pietro paced back and forth across the living room as he considered the information he had just received from Lance about the next day.  
  
Todd shrugged his shoulders apathetically as he considered the new information, "Pietro, yo when have we ever been able to figure out what was running through his head, I mean we never know what the hell he is thinking."  
  
Lance stood up from the couch and put a hand on Pietro's shoulder looking more like a father them a teenager of nearly the same age, "Calm down, I am sure we will get some sort of explanation tomorrow, even if it is merely enough of one to satisfy our curiosity." Pietro nodded his head as he examined the earth mover from beneath his hair.  
  
Pietro noticed that Lance was looking particularly pale when they had arrived home, and the paleness had yet to fade. Also, Pietro couldn't remember a time when Lance had looked less like a grunge teenager then as he stood in front of him right now.  
  
He was wearing a black turtleneck that hugged his shoulders and abs, which seemed to have recently appeared, gray casual slacks that emphasized his slim waist, smooth black leather gloves, and black boots. His hair was even more tame, brushed back and to the side; this was definitely not the guy they had known a month ago. He decided this was the perfect time to bring it up, "Hey, Lance what's up with the new look?"  
  
The two brotherhood members were the only ones who knew a bit of the real story behind the breakup with Kitty; they knew he had been ordered to break up with her but not that he had been punished for it significantly.  
  
Pietro and Todd watched, shocked when Lance paled even further as he shook his head, "Uhhh, nope, sorry guys your own pathetic love lives will have to be enough, there aren't even any possibilities on my horizon."  
  
Todd pushed a little following Pietro's lead, "Yo, are you sure, you can tell us ya'know."  
  
Lance gave a nervous laugh as he again shook his head, "There really is nobody, and I think we should probably all get to bed since we have to be out of here so freakin' early in the morning." With this Lance turned and headed up the stairs to his bedroom.  
  
Todd and Pietro looked at each other shrugging there shoulders, they'd have to wait until another day before they tried to again find out what had changed their friend. They both headed to bed as well, not hearing the nearly silent noises of sobbing coming from Lance's room.  
  
The Next Morning  
  
When Todd and Pietro woke up they found Lance downstairs showered, dressed, and ready to go. He hadn't been sleeping much lately and his eyes were red and puffy from what they thought was missed sleep.  
  
He turned to look at them and snapped out an order, "Hurry up, the Acolytes will be here in an hour, and I refuse to be unprepared when they get here." The two younger mutants looked taken aback by his harsh tone but quickly went to get ready.  
  
Lance sighed as he sat at the breakfast table alone, he really didn't mean to snap at the other two, but he was already on edge about the events of the day. He had had a nightmare the night before and woke up sobbing, something which he thought he had long trained himself to stop doing.  
  
Ever since he had become Lord Magneto's "pet" his uniform had changed, become more mature in many aspects. It was now much the way Gambit dressed. He wore dark brown chocolate pants underneath a black shirt and a long leather duster in deep brown.  
  
He also wore a pair of black gloves, and black boots; his tacky glass helmet had been replaced by black wraparound sunglasses. All in all, a impressive transformation, one which he hated and despised.  
  
A little later just as the other two mutants were coming down the stairs, dressed and ready as well, there was a knock at the back door. Lance rose, taking his coffee with him as he opened it.  
  
A very surprised Mystique stood on the other side of the door slowly taking in Lance's new look, definitely a different one then she had seen him in previously. She was again shocked by the cool, calm manner he greeted her in, "Ah, no Pyro, no real shock there. Good morning Mystique, would you care to come in and explain the mission, or would you like to wait for the others?"  
  
Mystique shook off her surprise in this young collected mutant, glancing at the other two as they shrugged their shoulders, also having no idea how he had appeared either.  
  
She took a seat glancing boy, no now a man, in front of her, a emotionless gaze holding her own over a coffee cup. She spoke to shake the feeling something was very wrong here, "The others are coming, it would be best to wait before all is explained. Exactly how much have you been told?"  
  
Lance leaned back in the chair, "Not much, Lo.... I mean Magneto simply dropped by and told me to expect Pyro this morning, that was all." Lance mentally scolded himself as he had nearly said Lord Magneto, luckily besides an odd glance no one had noticed his screw up, he would have to be more careful around the Acolytes, especially Sabertooth.  
  
Mystique looked at the rock mover in front of her suspiciously, it sounded as though he had been about to say something else. Some how she got the feeling that she didn't want to know the background about what he had nearly said.  
  
They continued to look at each other and Lance was the first to speak, "Would you care for some coffee Mystique? It seems as though the Acolytes are not ones to be on time." Mystique nodded her head in agreement, "Yes coffee would be appreciated, black and strong."  
  
Lance smirked as he rose, "Of course, I wouldn't make it any other way." As he was setting the cup in front of Mystique another knock, heavier then before was at the back door.  
  
Lance went to answer it, as he opened it he came face to face with the one creature he had hoped never to see again, Sabertooth. Sabertooth grinned, his fangs flashing, "Hello Rocky" 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Lance paled and lowered his head as Sabertooth smirked at him; Lance could clearly see the lust in his eyes and couldn't bear to look at it.  
  
Gambit appeared suddenly behind Sabertooth smacking him on the back of the head, "Bad kitty, you should have waited." Gambit shook his finger at the large mutant knowing he could get away with it, the larger mutant dared not attack him, Magneto would tear him apart.  
  
As Sabertooth growled at him, a slightly maniacal laugh rang out behind Gambit as Pyro appeared, "Mate, you really shouldn't torment the poor cat man like that, it really isn't nice."  
  
Gambit shrugged his shoulders as he looked over at the pyromaniac next to him, "I can't help it, it's just to much fun."  
  
The two mutants turned back toward the rest of the group when they heard a throat being cleared, a distinctly female throat. "Gentlemen, how nice of you to finally join us, now if you will sit the hell down so we can get this mission over with! I don't believe introductions are necessary, correct?"  
  
It wasn't until Mystique spoke that the two mutants noticed the Lance standing in front of them. Gambit raised an appraising eyebrow as he looked at the teenager not recognizing him, "Who is this extraordinarily well dressed man in front of me, I don't believe we have been introduced. " Gambit held out a hand which Lance took while chuckling.  
  
"Sorry, we've met numerous times Cajun, the name's Avalanche" Lance's face twisted into a wry smirk as both Pyro and Gambit suddenly did excellent impressions of goldfish. Turning his back on the two Acolytes Lance sat down at the table taking a long drink from his coffee.  
  
Lance glanced over and saw Sabertooth had positioned himself just behind the other Brotherhood members, a rather subtle threat to them if anything should happen.  
  
He looked quickly away, noticing that he still had two mutants staring at him, "Are you to going to sit down or stand there looking like goldfish all day?"  
  
Their mouths snapped shut as they quickly walked over to lean against the counter holding a quiet staring contest with the leader of the Brotherhood. As Gambit looked in his eyes he gave a small shudder, it was like his eyes were dead, they were completely flat and emotionless, they betrayed nothing of what was going on in his head.  
  
Mystique spoke again, distracting Gambit from the dead eyes of a teenager, "Since we are all here, I can explain exactly what this mission will entail, and remember Magneto will be watching and he will know if we fail." Mystique kept talking, telling them where they were going and that they would have to wait once they got there to get more orders from Magneto.  
  
Lance nodded as Mystique finished her explanation the group; she turned to him next and spoke, "Magneto told me to relay a message, first that your new powers are not to be used on this mission, and that you know the price of failure." Mystique noticed Lance pale at this last part and glance quickly at Sabertooth whose eyes glinted wildly at the young mutant.  
  
He quickly looked back down at the tabletop, cursing himself in his head; he could feel the curious looks, silently asking what possible new power he could have. He wished he could tell them but his lord had forbidden it explicitly, so he nodded quickly wiping the emotion from his face, and sliding the dark glasses down over his eyes. He stood up from the table, looking at the others, "So, shall we go?"  
  
Not waiting for a response he strode out the door his long coat billowing behind him like a cape. Sabertooth smirked as he followed Lance out of the house. After getting over their shock the others followed as well, climbing into the vehicle that Magneto had supplied them with, a large black SUV with darkly tinted windows.  
  
Mystique, the only one who knew where they were really going climbed into the drivers seat; Gambit next to her, Pietro, Todd, and Pyro crammed themselves in the middle and Lance was stuck with Sabertooth in the backseat.  
  
Pyro leaned forward so he could talk to Gambit and Mystique without the others in the vehicle hearing, "Okay, is it just me or is a completely different person then we met a few monthes ago? Mystique, what happened to the hot headed teenager I remember?" He said this while throwing a look at the backseat where Lance had scrunched himself into one corner as much as he could without blatantly obvious about it.  
  
Gambit looked in the rearview mirror noting the expression on his face as he shook his head; it was an expression he had seen one to many times on teens on the street. It was a loss of hope, a resignation to living.  
  
He sighed as he whispered a low reply to the man next to him, "I'm completely in the dark my friend, but that is a different person then we saw last time, why I have no idea. Mystique, any clues? You're the one that knows those three best anyway."  
  
If you didn't know the blue mutant you wouldn't have noticed the subtle tightening of her hands on the steering wheel, or the way her eyes narrowed in worry, "I have absolutely no idea what is going on so keep your questions to yourself. Just simply watch the boy and I am sure you will learn everything you could want to know."  
  
Gambit and Pyro nodded seeing the subtle signs that most people would have missed, she was worried as well, even if she wouldn't admit it. They would definitely be watching Lance closely on this mission. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chap. 6  
  
In the backseat Lance swallowed as he felt a large hand tracing patterns on his leg pressing with sharp claws, but not quite cutting.  
  
He closed his eyes, he couldn't move or make a sound or the others might notice something going on, and his lord would not be happy if he let his secret slip. The hand became more insistent trailing over the upper thigh, back down to the knee, claws scraping the fabric, a millimeter away from ripping the cloth.  
  
Lance looked over at Sabertooth, knowing his lord would punish him if any of the others found out; that meant that Sabertooth had to stop. Turning his pleading eyes to the feral mutant he was met by harsh eyes filled with a need that could not be had, at least at the moment.  
  
Sabertooth removed his hand from Lance's leg a smirk that promised more fun later crossing his lips as he turned to the window. Lance shuddered and noticed that the two other Acolytes and Mystique seemed to be having a rather intense conversation; he couldn't hear what they were talking about but it was probably about the mission.  
  
Lance leaned against the side of the SUV resting his eyes; he couldn't afford to let the others find out what was going on, his lord had confirmed that the other two acolytes would simply want to participate and Mystique would be disgusted with his weakness.  
  
Much was the case with the X-men, Lord Magneto's voice rang in his head, "Do you really think they would want one like you for anything other then release? You are nothing without me, though I am sure that Wolverine might enjoy taking over where Sabertooth left off, but I will keep you."  
  
Lance shivered, he was glad his lord protected him and explained the truth of the others to him or he would be lost. He remembered thanking his lord for protecting him, he was lucky to have such a forgiving lord and master. His lord's word was law so what he said must be true; Lance's mind embraced that as his mantra, believing everything he was fed by Magneto.  
  
Lance brushed a hand over the neck of his shirt, feeling the metal below it, in a way it was almost a comfort, always present and never changing. A small sigh escaped his lips as he leaned his had againt the glass and closed his eyes' trying to shut out reality around him.  
  
After a short while Lance was jolted back to reality when the SUV came to an abrupt halt in front of a large warehouse. Mystique shut of the engine and swiveled in the seat to face the others in the car; "This is where we are meeting Magneto to get the details for the mission."  
  
The others all nodded and climbed from their transportation walking towards the large metal doors that seemed to swing open of their own accord. Magneto stood behind them his ice blue eyes looking out from underneath the helmet, seeming to burn his assembled party with their coldness. He gave a curt nod to Gambit and Mystique as he addressed them, "I am pleased that you are here on time, I assume you have given them only the brief details that I gave you?"  
  
A double nod from Gambit and Mystique was his only answer as he continued speaking, "Excellent, there is a large meeting tonight of assorted groups of mutant registration, and destruction groups. I want you to break it up, show the humans our power and make them fear it, the war is coming and we have to make the first strike. I expect to hear excellent news from you in a few hours, I will provide transportation, and Mystique will pilot, since she will arouse no suspicion as she lands."  
  
Finishing this speech Magneto turned and gestured, a small plane just the right size to fit the six passengers and one pilot. Mystique morphed herself into a male pilot, a stereotypical one right down to the blonde crew cut and blue eyes, an all American male.  
  
She climbed into the cockpit and gestured for the others to hop into the back of the small plane, Lance was the last one to get on and he was held back for mere seconds as Magneto whispered in his ear, "You know the price of failure." A quick nod and Lance was settled and ready to take off to complete a mission and please his lord. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
(After the mission)  
  
Lance limped off the small airplane, his clothes were ripped and slightly bloody, in addition he was receiving querying glares from Mystique and the two acolytes, but none of this mattered to him, they had failed, HE had failed Lord Magneto in his mission.  
  
Glancing over he saw the thrilled smirk on Sabertooth's face, he had wanted him to fail, to hopefully have another go at him.  
  
Lance was so far submerged in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice the looks from the three older mutants, luckily Todd and Pietro had zoomed somewhere the minute the door opened; they certainly didn't want to be around when Lord Magneto heard about the failure.  
  
Lance retreated to one corner of the warehouse and sat down staring off into space; Sabertooth stood across from him grinning at the teenager gleefully while the other three retreated to a different corner to talk about what had just happened.  
  
Pyro was the first to speak, "Okkaaaay, now we now something is wrong with situation don't we boys and girls?" Gambit and Mystique nodded glancing over at the figure in the corner. Pyro continued, "What the hell was that, I mean he went ballistic, he was ready to frickin die rather then escape! I thought he was gonna have a meltdown when we got him back on that plane!"  
  
Mystique looked troubled as she glanced at the acolytes, "Was it just me or did Sabertooth seem to be enjoying our failure just a little to much? I mean it was like he was looking forward to failing, what possible reason could there be for that? Also, didn't it seem that this mission was just set up for failure? There were only seven of us, and seven hundred of them! Not to mention the fact we would have had to kill innocent people, which I am not totally in agreement with, especially when it puts my own life in danger."  
  
Gambit looked reflective as he mulled over their questions, "ya know I think this all has something to do with Magneto, before we boarded the plane I saw him pull Lance aside and tell him something that pulled the little color from his face immediately. I really didn't think about it before, but I mean everything seems to be tied to him, don't you agree? Who sent us on a mission seemingly impossible to complete? Who else would have gotten Lance a new outfit? Certainly not himself, and what's with the haircut? It looks more like that Cyclops, or even Magneto's own; I know for a fact that Lance liked having long hair...."  
  
Before Gambit could continue his little oratory Magneto's voice was heard magnified throughout the chamber, "I have heard of your failure and am greatly disappointed, Mystique, Gambit, Sabertooth, Pyro I expect to be debriefed when I meet you at headquarters. Avalanche, I want you to debrief me now, report to the boarding house immediately."  
  
Lance immediately wiped his face of any emotions, but some flickers of fear could still be seen swimming in his eyes. It was as though his soul had just broken into pieces on the floor.  
  
Sabertooth looked like his favorite toy had just been taken away, (which it had!) He turned and stalked out the door, headed towards another car that had been provided. Lance slowly started to walk towards his jeep which had been delivered for him to drive back to the boarding house.  
  
Gambit, Pyro, and Mystique all looked at each other, they wanted to know what was going on, and they were going to find out no matter what. Gambit saw what the other two were thinking and nodded walking over to the car with Sabertooth inside, "Oi! Kittykat, Mystique, Pyro, and I have to stop off somewhere else first, we'll take that truck from earlier." Gambit gestured at the SUV that was still unoccupied Sabertooth shrugged, roaring off in the car, he could care less about what the others wanted to do.  
  
Turning back Gambit walked over to the other two as Lance walked away to his jeep and hopped in, quickly turning it on and driving away, obviously headed back to the boarding house.  
  
The three older mutants waited a short while until they were sure that both Lance and Sabertooth were gone; they then hopped into the SUV from earlier and drove off behind Lance, far enough away that he wouldn't notice the tail but close enough that they would arrive at the boarding house only 15 to 20 minutes behind him. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
Arriving at the boarding house Gambit carefully cut the motor so it wouldn't be heard inside; looking at the other two in the car he held a whispered conversation with them, "How are we going to do this? I mean we can't just barge in there, Magneto would kick our asses from here to Shangri La."  
  
Mystique rolled her eyes at the description, not disputing it however, "There is the large bay window in the front, we can see what is going on through it if we are careful."  
  
Pyro jumped in, "Oh yeah they'll be in the front room where anybody could wander up and watch them, Good God woman, Magneto's not a complete idiot!"  
  
Gambit broke in before the shapeshifter could do serious harm to the flame throwing mutant, "No, but he is arrogant as hell, and if their not in the front room then we can go from there, but we should go and see instead of just sitting here like dumbasses arguing!"  
  
This effectively shut up the others as they climbed out of the SUV, heading towards the large front room window. They could hear the angry murmur of a voice and the harsh sound of flesh meeting flesh as someone crashed to the floor shaking the whole house.  
  
The three merely looked at each other and moved a little more quickly towards the window, once they reached it they looked in and saw Lance crumpled on the floor and Magneto towering over him one hand raised in the air.  
  
Magneto was dressed in black slacks and a black button down shirt with a new design of mind blocker that was simply situated off to one side. All and all he looked very dark and foreboding.  
  
They watched as Lance quickly climbed to his knees kneeling with his head tilted down, eyes staring at the ground as a red bruise mark in the shape of a hand started to form on his cheek.  
  
They could hear the words now that they were close enough and it startled them, even when Magneto was pissed at them his voice never sounded like this, "Failure is not acceptable, do you think I would let you get away with this pathetic attempt, answer me Rocky!"  
  
Lance's whispered words could barely be heard as he spoke submissively, "I am sorry my lord I tried, they would not let me stay, the others drag....."  
  
Magneto cut off his words with a gesture, it looked almost like Lance was choking, trying to draw in breath; he clawed at his throat drawing the assembled party's attention to the collar that was revealed. He was indeed choking, his breathing cut off by the tightening of the metal band around his neck.  
  
The band was suddenly loosened and Lance drew great gulping breaths; red scratch marks appearing around the collar where he had clawed at it. "I do not care what the others did Rocky, you failed and you know that I do not take kindly to failures, take off your shirt; you will not fail me again."  
  
At this point the three mutants watching the spectacle where all in varying degrees of shock and anger which was immediately knocked up several notches as Lance removed his shirt revealing a back covered in slashes, scratches, and scars.  
  
Some were obviously years old from when he was young but the majority of them were still in the process of healing, knitting the skin back together into a web of scars.  
  
Lance laid down on the floor on his stomach a piece of metal flying out of the kitchen wrapping around his wrists and pinning his hands to the floor. Waving his hand Magneto took a small piece of metal and stretched it out into a long thin pliable piece, much like a whip.  
  
He brought it crashing down on Lance's back leaving a dark blood filled welt to form, just barely to the point of not drawing blood. Magneto did this over and over until Lance's back was covered in the dark welts and soft pathetic whimpers could be heard coming from his mouth.  
  
Releasing his hands from the floor but keeping them bound together Magneto stepped back and watched Lance shakily rise to a kneeling position, tears silently falling down his face.  
  
Outside Mystique barely grabbed a hold of the two Acolytes before they rushed headlong into the boarding house, "There is nothing we can do right now you idiots, Magneto has the power in this situation, he knows all the metal in the place, and in case you forgot you are both wearing some."  
  
A very dark scowl came over Mystique's face as she hauled the two back, "Don't worry, Magneto will get what is coming to him, for now we just have to find out what else is going on and then figure out what the hell to do about it."  
  
They watched as Magneto slowly walked around Lance fingering the welts his back and feeling the shudder that ran through his body as he did. Walking back to the front he tilted Lance's chin up seeing the broken expression on his face, "Beautiful; you know that Sabertooth has just been begging for you, perhaps you should pay him a visit for this recent failure."  
  
A panicked and anxious look came across the young mutants face as he pleaded, "Please my lord, anything but that, I am so sorry for my failure, I am nothing without you, please......." Magneto stopped Lance's pleas by holding his hand up, drawing a finger down his cheek he spoke, "Perhaps I will forget your punishment with Sabertooth if you do something with that pretty mouth besides beg, you are oh so good at it."  
  
Lance's eyes seemed to lower as a crimson red blush stained his cheeks, Magneto chuckled darkly, "Even after all this time, you still blush like a new virgin Rocky, it is highly......entertaining. Come show me what you have learned with that tongue of yours and I might save you from Sabertooth."  
  
The three outside the window were almost stunned into catatonia when they heard Lance's response as drew up in front of Magneto, on his knees, his captured hands coming to rest on the waistband of Magneto's pants; "Thank you my lord, you are most kind. I do not deserve your generosity, I am for you to use as you see fit."  
  
Magneto, Pyro, and Gambit knew what was coming and they could not force themselves to watch the degradation. Turning away from the window all they could hear was the low groaning of Magneto as he enjoyed Lance, and the one word from him as he wrapped his hands in Lance's hair and finished, "Swallow." , Looking back in the window they watched as Magneto almost tenderly stroked Lance's hair and Lance nearly purred leaning into the affection. Grasping his hair in his hands Magneto forced Lance to stand coming behind the young mutant pulled him against his body, whispering in his ear, "Upstairs, now, your punishment is not over."  
  
Lance slowly nodded walking submissively up the stairs towards his room with Magneto following right behind him, they watched as they reached the room; Lance slowly unlocking it and Magneto slamming it shut behind them after they entered.  
  
Not really wanting to consider what was going on in the room the three retreated to the SUV, silently they climbed in and Mystique proceeded to drive them to a more quiet section of the city where they could discuss what just happened.  
  
Pyro and Gambit sat with expressions of pure anger and shock on their faces, Pyro was the first to break the silence, "That bloody bastard! What is the kid, 17?"  
  
Gambit cut in equally as angry, "He's no better then a swamp toad! From the sounds of it and the state of those wounds this is not a new occurrence, how long has this crap been going on?!"  
  
The two mutants sank into a brooding silence each considering the questions that had just been laid out before them, Gambit sighed and spoke again his anger evaporating to the point that he just sounded downright tired; "So, what are we going to do, we cannot just leave this alone, Mystique?"  
  
Mystique had a dark expression on her face, she sighed and spoke, "There really is only one person who can help, but it means going to them and asking for help, he really is the only person powerful enough to stand up to Magneto if it comes to that."  
  
Looking at where they were Gambit and Pyro came to the realization of who Mystique was talking about at the same time; they were currently parked outside The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youth. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
= telepathy  
  
Pyro grimaced, "You're not thinking about who I think you are thinking about, right, please tell me we are not going to him to beg for hel...."  
  
Gambit broke in before Pyro could finish the thought, "Pyro, we may be able to do some serious damage before we were ever taken down, (thanks to Ahra for the great line!) but who is the only person who has ever been able to seriously hold his own, or even fight against, Magneto? Xavier is the only one who Magneto even remotely respects, this really is the only place where they would be safe."  
  
Mystique nodded, agreeing with Gambit's statement, "The other two have to get out of there as well, you two do not know their history but trust me they did not have nice childhoods; this was one of the reasons I was able to convince them to join Magneto." She sneered the last part of the sentence, some guilt appearing on her face about her part in bringing the three teenagers to Magneto.  
  
Suddenly a thought occurred to Gambit, "You don't suppose the other two are going through the same thing do you? Would he sink that low?"  
  
Pyro shook his head, "Nah, though I wouldn't doubt he's kicked them around a time or two, I think those two are more of bargaining chips, those three seem to be the only family any of them has ever had. Hey, Mystique, how did those three grow up, it certainly would help us understand some of this hell that seems to be happening."  
  
Mystique shook her head and held up a hand before Pyro could interrupt her, "I only want to explain this once, so you will hear it at the same time Xavier does; after all if he really can help them, all three of them, he will need to know everything."  
  
Squaring her shoulders she sighed and climbed out of the car heading for the front gate, Gambit and Pyro followed her flanking either side in a standard back up position.  
  
Glancing at them she reached out with her mind Xavier, Charles Xavier  
  
A few moments later there was a reply to all three of their minds, a voice tinged with surprise and suspicion Mystique, Gambit, Pyro? What are you three doing here, and what does Erik want?"  
  
Not surprised that Xavier thought that was why they were there Mystique replied, We wish to speak with you, not concerning Magneto Even in her mind she was sure that Xavier heard the disgust that was now attached to that name I will open my mind to look for deceit, but I ask that you go no further then that, I will reveal everything. Feel free to bring as many of the adults with you but do not tell the students, this is not for any of their ears.  
  
Mystique could feel Xavier touch her mind doing a scan to see if what she had said was the truth, he was however respecting her request about not probing her memories.  
  
As she felt him leave her mind the gates in front of her swung open, Meet me in my office, someone will meet you at the door  
  
She looked over at Pyro and Gambit who had not heard the last bit, "Apparently someone will be greeting us at the door." Sneering at the statement she started up the walk, to angry to climb back in the car; the other two were feeling much the same way and they stalked right behind her to the front door.  
  
Leaning against the doorjamb studying his claws was Logan; he looked at the three mutants in front of him, glaring in a very unsubtle threat, "What in hell's creation could you three possible want here?"  
  
Before Gambit or Pyro could bite off a reply a large blue furry hand clapped down on Logan's shoulder, "Logan, my friend, I believe we are supposed to escort them to the office, not interrogate them at the front door, we will most likely be getting answers soon."  
  
Mystique glanced at the two behind her to make sure they weren't going to be their normal smartass selves yet, turning back she spoke, "Yes, now if you will show us to Xavier we have a discussion to hold."  
  
Growling Logan turned and jerked his head, indicating them to follow, walking behind him and Beast they cam to a large double set of doors set in the middle of the mansion. Mystique being Mystique didn't wait for the two in front of her and regally swung through the doors sitting herself in a chair across from Xavier, who was already waiting along with Storm for their arrival.  
  
He nodded to each of them, interlacing his fingers as he began to speak, "So Mystique what has brought you here? You would never willingly seek out our assistance."  
  
Mystique took a breath wrapping her aura around herself like a protective cloak, "This is not about me, this about one of my boys, actually all of them, they need your help."  
  
Logan gave a short harsh bark of laughter, "Those three? Why would they possibly want our help, their just screw-ups working for Magneto."  
  
Mystique silenced Pyro and Gambit before they began glaring at Wolverine, "No they do not, Todd and Lance work for me, and Pietro doesn't have much choice in the matter now does he? Secondly, they are not screw ups, they are survivors."  
  
She spat this out viciously at him before turning back to the Professor and talking in normal tones, "You don't know the past of those three before they met up with you, I am going to tell a little story but please don't interrupt."  
  
Logan growled but Xavier looked at him and he complied, "What does this have to do with the situation Mystique, why are you asking for our help?"  
  
Mystique sighed, not sounding at all like the confident assassin they thought her to be, "You will understand but to do that you need to hear my story, understood?"  
  
Receiving nods from the four X-men and the two Acolytes, Mystique began, "Obviously Todd is the youngest brotherhood member but he has been with me the longest, he lived in Brooklyn and various parts of New York all his life. He was born with certain aspects of his mutation at birth, the long tongue and the strong legs mainly; his mother was/is a prostitute and his father was just a various john, so we really have no idea if he is a first or second-generation mutant. Because of his mutation at birth there is the probability that he a second generation. When he was five his mother sold him to a stable, in other words a whorehouse for men whose tastes ran to young boys. She apparently got a reasonably high price for him, as you can imagine his tongue would be considered quite the bonus in a career track like that."  
  
She sneered at the thought of any parent selling off their child like that, even she was not that cold hearted; "He was trained for two years before he was sold to his first john; he was then sold continuously for the next 4 years. Saying no was not an option, and thinking for yourself on anything was out of the question; he was told when to sleep, eat, dress, even when to go to the bathroom. Any order not obeyed to the letter, or any action of his own will was punished. At 11 he managed to escape and ended up on the street, still occasionally prostituting when the pockets he picked were empty or low on cash. His life is one of the reasons he seems to have such a hatred of personal hygiene, and not really give a damn about what he wears. At the stable the 'managers' always made sure he was dressed 'appropriately' and was clean and bathed. I met Todd when he was 13, he was fairly hardened, and broken."  
  
The others noticed her voice echo with a few cracks and faint tremors, of what appeared to be emotion, "He traveled with me for a short time, I managed to rebuild some of himself but he will always have problems standing up to anyone stronger then him. That night I sent him here I deeply regret, though I wish you had simply taken him, instead you nearly broke him again, and then I had to act the hard ass to him because I knew Magneto was watching."  
  
Mystiques voice broke fully as she narrated this part, she still felt guilt for the somewhat rebuilt teen who had been again thrust into hell. Pausing for a moment she managed to regain her composure before continuing, "He is actually a very intelligent and well spoken young man but you have to get past the façade to find it, which is hard to do, and even now if someone more authoritative gives him an order he will in all likelihood hop to do it. The only way he would not is if he is on orders, which is the few times you see him; he was never allowed to think for himself, so orders are what he is used to and what he expects. There has been a few times I have had my suspicions that certain people we needed to influence were 'coaxed along' by Todd's 'talents' on Magneto's orders, though I hope this not to be the case."  
  
After the narrative Mystique glanced at those around her, she had revealed more about her own feelings then she had meant to, but the looks of shock, horror, and shame on the part of the X-men was worth it. When she glanced over she noticed that the two Acolytes were in a similar state of shock.  
  
Sighing she sat up a little straighter and began again, "Okay, moving on to Pietro, as we all know Pietro is Magneto's son and Wanda's twin. However both Pietro and Wanda were tossed in a foster home as soon as their mother was out of the picture, the next time they saw their father was when he came and threw Wanda into the institution; Xavier you know all of this from your contact with Wanda, however there are several things to this story that you do not know. Wanda being put into the institution was probably the best thing she could have hoped for; after she was left, Pietro was not immediately returned to his foster home, he traveled with Magneto for awhile, seeing things no child should ever see."  
  
Glancing at Xavier Mystique could see he knew what kind of things she was referring to, things that made even her shudder, she continued on, "Kindness was punished harshly and weakness was not to be tolerated at all. He came back very different and was put into a new foster home where he made the first friend he has ever had, the kid across the street, Evan Daniels. Yes, they may seem like enemies but at one time Evan was the only person in Pietro's life who was not in it directly for their own gain. His foster parents took up where Magneto left off, except their favorite method of punishment was starvation. Even now we sometimes have to force Pietro to eat, and he never does enough, with his mutation his metabolism is nearly 10 to 20 times that of a normal human, however, on a good day we are lucky to get him to eat as much as a regular person. This is the reason for his nearly skeletal appearance, which he hides rather well."  
  
The Acolytes had even appeared slightly shocked at the treatment that he had received at the hands of those who were supposed to care about them.  
  
Mystique ignored their reaction, getting lost in the story she was telling, "Evan and he had a fight right before he left that was never resolved and still remains the reason for their animosity, when Pietro was recruited by Magneto he really had no choice in the matter, after all, Magneto is not only his father but one of the most powerful mutants in the world. It would not surprise me if Magneto has forced Pietro to 'take care of' certain mutants who oppose him. Sadly, I would say that Pietro had perhaps the best childhood out of the three"  
  
After this monologue, Logan interrupted her with a gruff question, "What does all this crap have to do with why you're here?"  
  
Holding up a hand to stop the two Acolytes from jumping into the fray she held onto her own temper while giving the feral mutant a look, "I said you would understand when I was done, but for now this is background information, crap that neither of them has worked through. I know Todd still wakes up screaming many nights from nightmares, still remembers every man he took to his bed and just what he did for them. Just as I know that Pietro is nearing a psychotic break if he keeps bottling his emotions, and a physical collapse he, most likely, would not recover from if his near anorexia progresses any further."  
  
Settling back down from her near confrontation Mystique looked at the assembled party, "Finally the person who precipitated the three of us stepping into enemy territory; Lance Alvers. While I know Xavier knows the basics of Lance's life, he knows nothing about the life of Lance Williams, the person who Lance was before the age of 13. When he was 4 both of Lance's parents died in a car crash, from all accounts they were loving people who genuinely cared for Lance. Lance and his younger brother Lane, who was 1 at the time were both in the car at the time of the crash; Lance got to watch first his mother then his father die from blood loss his mother died screaming, and his father died trying to comfort the boys. He sat in the car with them for 2 hours before he was pulled out of the wreck, this where Lance lost what little childhood he was allowed."  
  
A delicate shudder ran through Storm at the thought of sitting in a car with two corpses especially for a young child, Mystique caught it and gave a soft smile to her, throwing everyone in the room off. "Lance and Lane were both put into an orphanage since they had no relatives, Lance was the only one who could take care of Lane, the people in charge couldn't give a damn. He was a four-year-child acting like a father and mother to his one- year-old brother; they were both cute kids and they were taken in by a family. However this is not a happy ending, from all indications if Lane was still alive he would be able to control Water much like Lance can control Earth, basic elementals."  
  
Beast interrupted Mystique's story at this point, "If he were still alive?"  
  
Mystique smiled bitterly as she continued, "I was getting to that....."  
  
"Both Lance and Lane had their powers manifest early on, though Lane's was more obvious then Lance's; let's just say that the family they were living with were a little strict. Lance has no less then 60 different medical charts, AT DIFFERENT HOSPITALS, for things like broken collarbones, jaws, legs, and as many as 200 stitches in the three years that they lived there. Lane had around 15, mostly from Lance protecting him against the abuse, they were generally for more mild cuts and bumps then Lance's. He has had basically every rib broken at least once; along with a multitude of other bones."  
  
Mystique ignored the waiting looks as she took a deep breath and forced herself to continue, "When Lance was seven he watched his foster parents throw his brother into a wall to try and get him to stop crying. This was the first time that he ever called the police or anyone, but when they got there, they found Lance with a punctured lung, a broken ankle, two black eyes, and a cacophony of other bruises. His brother wasn't so lucky, Lance was rocking his body, when he had connected with the wall his neck had been broken, he was dead upon arrival at the hospital. Lance was immediately thrown back into the system from the hospital; luckily Lane was buried with their parents, Lance still makes a trip at least once a year to visit. Once Lance was thrown back in the system he immediately ran away onto the streets."  
  
Here she stopped for a moment considering what to abridge and what not to, "He created a sort of surrogate family of runaways, though he was the youngest so he was often the one who contributed the most to their little money pit. He stayed on the streets for about 6 years, it is amazing that he survived that long, and in those six years he gained a reputation. When he was thirteen he got a nickname that you still hear about in the inner city ghettoes, he was Shaker, and he ran with a group that had changed over the years but some of the same kids were around, the older ones had managed to get jobs and they scraped by. His connection with the earth makes him sturdy and solid muscle, so though he may be skinny never get into a fist fight with him, his skills are still well known. His powers were just starting to manifest so small occurrences of ground shaking when he fought got him his nickname. His group, because it cannot really be called a gang, were the Downtrods."  
  
Logan's mouth gaped as he sought out the couch plopping down on it; "You're tellin' me that Lance Alvers, aka, Avalanche was Shaker? At 13?!"  
  
The Professor, Beast, and Storm looked at Logan as he obviously recognized the name Logan replied to their questioning gazes, "Shaker is a name that you don't badmouth, unless a course ya wanna end up face down in the gutter. Respected for actually having morals, feared for kickin' the ass of any of those who wronged them, very protective of any younger kid on the street. They were squatin' in an abandoned building when it went up in flames from a forgotten fire; he apparently made sure every one of his got out, no one knows what happened ta him after that."  
  
Mystique smirked, she had hoped one of them would recognize the name, her smirk disappeared as she realized how much harder this could make the rest of the story, "Well, after that he was picked up by Social Services again, he was burned very badly and was in the hospital for a few months. After he got out he was shipped off to the place where you found him, his name was changed to Lance Alvers by his foster parents. When his powers fully emerged, it was not a pretty experience, it was perhaps the most painful thing that anyone could imagine, even more painful then Evan' spikes. His foster family basically told him he was on his own, they left him. This was when he first tried to commit suicide, though it really was just an attempt, his gloves hide the scars admirably well. From then to when he encountered you he lived on his own in that little hell hole of a town, he lived mainly through petty thievery, he would of starved rather then resort to more base forms of getting money. He watched to many go down that road on the streets, to die from either a pissed john or an STD."  
  
Exhausted Mystique collapsed down into the chair relaying her desire to the two Acolytes, they noticed and sat up a little straighter realizing she obviously wanted them to bring the others fully up to date.  
  
Gambit began speaking, knowing Pyro might get annoyed and set something on fire; "Y'all are probably still wonderin' what this has got ta do with ya; I'll explain. This may be hard for ya ta believe but the three of us really don't care what ta hell Magneto's philosophy is, all he does is spout a bunch of bullshit off as the truth and then force people to follow him. Both John an' I were picked off the streets by Mags, so we are a lot like the Lance, Pietro, and Todd; just with more training and experience. Once those three get those things, and trust me they will if they stay where they are, they will be truly dangerous. Pietro and Todd's powers are growing and soon they will evolve to be very powerful, in what ways we don't know yet. We don't know how but Lance's powers have evolved. From what we piece together these are not natural evolutions, Magneto has manipulated them through some genetic experimentation combining different strings of X-genes together to force increased powers or multitudes of powers. Lance was forbidden to use them on our last mission, the one that spurred us to come here..."  
  
Xavier interrupted Gambit while he was talking, looking shocked that Magneto would do experiments on his own son, "Mission? What was this mission?"  
  
Pyro, aka John, broke in, "A purposeful attempt to make us fail, there was no point, what we were supposed to do was break up a small gathering of Friends of Humanity and maybe scare the hell out of a coupla them."  
  
Gambit glared at John as he continued, they really didn't need to know that part, "What it turned out to be was a suicide mission, suffice to say that we are lucky to have gotten out as unscathed as this, though we're not fully sure just where Todd and Pietro ran off to, probably to escape Magneto's wrath and 'comfort' eachother." John chuckled as Mystique glared at him.  
  
"Was that really necessary Mr. St. John, that is not information that should be given lightly, it's not like they don't have enough crap going on already in their lives, are you just trying to further complicate matters by revealing personal information?"  
  
Pyro sunk down in the chair when assaulted by the double glares of both Gambit and Mystique, both scarier then hell when they were angry. Storm looked slightly puzzled at the interplay and finally threw in a question, "What personal information? I'm afraid I'm lost."  
  
Mystique sighed muttering under her breath about stupid flamethrowers who couldn't keep their mouths shut, "Before I tell you anything more, I have to hear you swear that nothing goes beyond this room, especially if my boys come here."  
  
Xavier raised her eyebrows at the term "my boys" but nodded in acquiescence, "As of right now nothing you have told us or will tell us goes beyond this room."  
  
Mystique sank back down in the chair, "Todd and Pietro are both gay, there is only four people who know this, myself, Gambit, Pyro, and Lance. They are also together; Todd is one of only two people who can get Pietro to eat, and Pietro is only one of two people who can comfort Todd when he wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, I'm sure you can guess who the other one is?"  
  
Storm nodded looking at the other X-men who didn't seem sure of the answer, "Lance, I assume?"  
  
Mystique nodded, "Correct, without Lance the other two would probably be dead, either killed by Magneto, or killed through their own self destructive ways."  
  
Gambit drew the attention of the room back to him, "Anyway, back to why we are here, once we realized that whatever Magneto had in mind when he sent us on this little field trip was obviously impossible, and dangerous to our health, Mystique ordered us out of there. Lance wouldn't come, he was going to stay there and die, he refused to escape. John and I had to grab him and drag him out of there and back here. Once we arrived back Todd and Pietro bolted, and the rest of us hung around until Mags ripped us a new one over a projector for failing. The three of us and Sabertooth were supposed to go back to headquarters and wait for him there, Lance was to report back to the boarding house, alone, immediately. We decided to follow him and sent the kittykat on his way without us. We followed him back to the boarding house and saw something....."  
  
Gambit gulped trying to get it out, angrily he slammed a fist on the desk, "I can't even tell you what we saw! Magneto is a sick bastard who I would personally would enjoy killing but I never though he would stoop as low as to rape a teenager!"  
  
Pyro piped up again, any teasing in his voice completely gone, "Remy it was worse then that, you saw his reactions,..... it's worse then rape, it's brainwashing, the kind both Todd and Pietro went through. Lance was the only one left unbroken, Magneto just sought to fix that."  
  
Xavier managed to pull himself together enough to ask, "What exactly did you see?"  
  
Mystique herself couldn't quite describe it, "Perhaps it would be better if you looked for yourself, I am sure you can relay it to the other three, I give you free permission to my memories of this, but only of this, clear?"  
  
Xavier nodded, connecting the four X-men together so they could all see what had happened through Mystique's eyes. Mystique opened her mind to Xavier and allowed the whole scene to play out.  
  
Storm, Xavier, Beast, and Logan all turned various shades of white, gray, lighter blue, and green as they watched the memory from beginning to end. As it ended Mystique fell back in the chair, her skin a lighter shade of blue then normal. Watching it all again was worse then the first time she was forced to observe.  
  
Shuddering as the memory ended Mystique looked at the four X-men with bruised eyes and questioned in a flat, exhausted voice, "Will you help them?" 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
At a small motel  
  
Todd climbed out of the shower, trying to scrub the scent of the Congressman off his body; Magneto always left Pietro and him assignments at the motel when a mission was failed; it was their 'punishment'.  
  
This time Todd had been sent to a Congressman Phelps from New York, Magneto was trying to gain blackmail and support within Congress. Sighing Todd started to dress, he was routinely sent as a small 'present' to gain their support, luckily, it was usually only once, but he had heard from Magneto that those he visited were requesting his return. None of his skills had waned on the street and he still knew every whore's trick in the book.  
  
He had thought he had gotten away from his former life, had built a new one, but here he was again, whoring himself, but for a different reason, he simply had nowhere else to go. The X-geeks had already proven they thought him lower then scum and as much as he hated it, he still needed a master figure, someone to tell him what to do.  
  
Mystique had fulfilled that role for awhile, had even helped him rebuild enough to make some decisions on his own, but she was gone and Magneto had taken her place. He didn't care as long as his customers/clients were satisfied.  
  
He had showered, dressed, and changed into the man's desire, when he got cleaned up it was amazing the transformation that took place. He winced as he pulled on his pants and shirt, Phelps had not been gentle, he could already see the bruises on his hips forming, and some bite marks other places.  
  
Both his wrists had some rope burns and he was not going to have an easy time walking for awhile, sighing he swore under his breath as he dressed, "Bastard" he wasn't sure if he was referring to Magneto or the Congressman.  
  
As he gently set himself on the bed and grabbed the remote for the tv, the door to the room opened and Pietro came in. His face was a mask, but Todd could see the emotions just beneath the surface. "How'd it go 'Tro?"  
  
Collapsing on the bed next to Todd he sighed, "I couldn't do it! He wanted me to kill a congressman with unsure standing about the mutant registration act, but I would have had to do it in front of his little kid. I watched the guy play with him, hug him, kiss him, praise him, and I couldn't do it, I couldn't take this man away from his son."  
  
Todd stroked his silver hair once, "So what did you do?"  
  
"I warned him, I warned him that a power hungry mutant was out for him, and....and I begged him to be careful for his son, a father is something no one should have to lose so young." He sighed and rolled over now carefully looking Todd over, "How are you, don't even try to lie to me."  
  
Averting his eyes Todd shrugged, "I'm fine 'Tro, you know I'm used to it, he was just a little rough."  
  
Pietro's eyes narrowed because Todd's definition of 'a little rough' was most people's of utterly sadistic. Putting a finger under his chin he tilted Todd's eyes to meet his, "How bad love?" He nearly whispered it, not allowing Todd to look away from his eyes.  
  
Two green eyes looked sadly back at him, tears gathering at the corners and spilling down his cheeks.  
  
Quickly Pietro pulled Todd to him, cradling the smaller mutant against him as he cried, "We'll get out love, we will get out."  
  
Todd laughed bitterly through his tears, "We'll never be able to leave 'Tro, where would we go? Our only real family is Lance and we can't leave him; it's not like the X-Geeks would ever consider either of us for their little club."  
  
He held one hand up to his head as he continued, "I can feel myself changing 'Tro, and it scares me, I don't know what is going on, it terrifies me I am turning into something I won't be able to control." He sniffled into Pietro's shirt, holding it like a lifeline.  
  
Sighing Pietro just ran his hands in soothing circles over Todd's back "We will find a way Todd, we can even talk to Lance, hell, we can even beg Baldy if the need comes but we will get out and soon."  
  
As Todd's breathing evened out Pietro could feel him falling asleep, wrapping his arms more tightly around him Pietro slid down next to him and for once they both fell into a sleep free from nightmares.  
  
At the Boarding House  
  
Magneto looked through the documentation that had been sent to him, he smirked as he saw yet another name he could add to his list of supporters in Congress; between Toad and Quicksilver his support was rapidly growing.  
  
Feeling a movement against his thigh he looked down, he mustn't forget about his pet, it had taken awhile to break the boy but now he was perfect, subservient and submissive to a tee.  
  
Magneto glanced around the room, he loved the way everything in it bent to his will, including the teen by his feet. His black shirt and pants were meticulous again, no sign that they had ever been removed, and his silver mane of hair was without a stray hair.  
  
A purr came from Lance's throat as Magneto drew his hand through his hair; Lance knew how the noise pleased his Lord, and he only wanted to do just that. He was currently kneeling next to his Lord's chair with his head resting against his thigh, eyes down at the floor respectfully, and his hands clasped behind his back.  
  
He wore a pair of very low cut soft fleece chinos that didn't quite cover his hips, they were a rich brown and as soft as sin. They had been a present from Lord Magneto.  
  
His wrists were raw from where the metal posts on the bed had wrapped around them and there were some bruises on his hips, along with the dark welts from earlier, but Lance believed he deserved it, he had after all failed him, and failure must be punished.  
  
He felt his hip still stinging a little where he had a new tattoo resting, his Lord had given it to him. It was an intricately designed EL in Celtic script, looking almost like a winding bunch of leaves. You almost had to know what you were looking for to see the initials; it was done in shades of green and brown, like vines.  
  
The older mutant looked down examining the markings that were now all over Lance's hip, it was superb work, and the boy had not even flinched or moved away when he ordered him not to, soon he would have complete control.  
  
Lance nuzzled his thigh as he considered how forgiving his Lord was, he had not let Sabertooth have him, even after his large failure. The markings on his hip just confirmed he belonged to his Lord, he was cared for. The X-men would never care, his Lord had assured him, they just wanted to use him; his Lord was his support, and his family's support. Todd and Pietro just wouldn't understand, that was the reason they could never know.  
  
Magneto gave a dark half smile as he felt him, checking the metal clock in the room he sighed maliciously, "Sorry, pet there isn't enough time to play with you today, go get dressed and return."  
  
Lance stood up and kept his eyes on the floor, bowing quickly as he stood, "Of course my Lord." With this he hurried to the small closet where he was allowed some possessions, he quickly pulled out a pair of dark chocolate brown pants that hugged his lower body, a light cream button up shirt with a high collar and long open sleeves, and a pair of soft brown leather wrist cuffs that neatly covered up the raw skin on his wrists and hands. He quickly laid the clothes out on the bed looking for approval from his Lord. Magneto nodded at Lance, pleased with the combination.  
  
He quickly pulled them on and brushed his hair out of his face, it fell in short soft waves around his face making him look younger and accentuating his golden brown eyes and high cheekbones.  
  
Once he was dressed Lance immediately returned to Magneto's side; Magneto stood and held out his arms; he had left the cuffs on the shirt unbuttoned. Lance stepped forward and carefully buttoned both the cuffs on the black shirt folding them over carefully. Once he was done he quickly retrieved his Lord's shoes and set them neatly on the ground in front of him.  
  
Magneto looked at the teen in front of him and made a satisfied noise in his head, there were still a few fires of independence, and of himself in those eyes, but they were merely down to flickers now, he had nearly broken the boy. Soon he would have another perfect slave to follow orders like Todd, and Pietro, and with their powers expanding at the exponential rate because of his genetic manipulation they would soon be very powerful.  
  
"Will you fail me again Rocky? I will not be so lenient next time." He held in a smirk as he watched the small tremors pass through Lance as he replied, "Never, my Lord, I will not fail you again."  
  
"Good, I would hate to let Sabertooth have his 'fun' again. Take the formula laid out for you, and I will contact you later with information, your powers are stabilizing well, now we simply raise them." Magneto watched as Lance visibly paled and then brightened under the threat of Sabertooth and the backhanded praise. He truly was a master manipulator.  
  
Locking the papers back into the metal desk with a wave of his had he turned and walked out of the room; Lance followed a few paces behind, carefully locking the door after them.  
  
Quickly following his Lord downstairs Lance waited by the door. Magneto smirked as he quickly crushed the smaller teen underneath him reopening a small wound on his lip as he brutally crushed his mouth. "Until next time Rocky." With this Magneto swept out the door leaving a nearly broken boy to try and recollect himself.  
  
At the Mansion  
  
Mystique rubbed her eyes tiredly after voicing her question, she could feel Gambit and Pyro tensing behind her, their next steps all revolved around what the four X-men had to say.  
  
The silence in the room seemed to drag on before Logan snorted, "How do we know that this ain't a trick to lure us somewhere with sad little stories. It would be just like you and your little band." He jerked his head at the two Acolytes though he also seemed to be including the three brotherhood members in his assessment.  
  
Logan continued on his little interrogation; "Why aren't they here then? If they really needed help then they would have come, the gate is always open to mutants, his policy not mine." Logan gestured at the Professor and then turned to glare at her.  
  
It shocked everyone in the room when Mystique didn't rise to the bait, she sighed and stood up glancing at the two behind her, "I take it that is your answer. Well then, you've been warned, those three could be your downfall and you cannot see it. I am not surprised, you've rejected each one of them, and that is why I am here and they are not. Do you really think they are so dumb as to come to a place where they have already been kicked once? At least with Magneto they know what to expect, even if it is prostitution, assassination, and rape."  
  
Mystique caught the almost imperceptible flinches that crossed a few faces as she calmly laid it all out. Turning to Pyro and Gambit she spoke, "You are welcome to go where you wish....."  
  
Gambit stood cutting her off, "I'm comin' wit ya." Pyro stood as well also conveying the fact he wasn't going anywhere.  
  
A rare sad smile flitted across her face she had expected Gambit to stay, but Pyro as well, they might stand at least stand a snowball's chance in hell.  
  
As they strode out the door a soft voice called to them, "Wait, please."  
  
Turning Mystique saw Storm was the one to call to her, and there was an angry look marring her face as she glared at Logan and nudged the Professor with her hand.  
  
The Professor steepled his fingers and looked at them seriously, "We will help."  
  
"We will have to move now, Magneto has probably just left the boarding house and Pietro and Todd should be arriving soon from their makeup missions, we need to get all three at once, because if I am right Pietro and Todd are the only thing that can make Lance come with us. At least one of them is going to need medical attention, so if McCoy and yourself could stay and the other two come it would work best."  
  
Xavier nodded following Mystique's logic, he swiveled to face the three other X-men, "Hank, please go ready the infirmary for patients, I will come help you; Ororo and Logan if you would go with those three and collect them."  
  
Storm nodded walking over to Mystique and Logan just growled under his breath storming through the door and grabbing the keys to the X-jeep. Together the five left, each lost in their own thoughts of what would happen next. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
Pietro pushed open the door of the boarding house as Todd leaned against him heavily, trying not to wince as various pains shot through his body; he hadn't been able to support his own weight so Pietro helped him through the doorway calling out as they entered, "Lance, get down here!"  
  
Lance quickly came down from upstairs his eyes conveying concern when he caught sight of Todd, "What happened 'tro?"  
  
Pietro scowled as Lance simply swept Todd up into his arms, he was a lot stronger then he looked, carrying Todd to the couch Lance gently laid him down; Pietro sitting down behind Todd and putting his head in his lap, "That bastard Phelps is what happened, our missions were definitely a punishment."  
  
Lance scowled, "Magneto, the bastard, he knew Phelps would do this." Turning to the exhausted teen on the couch his face softened, "Todd, do you need anything, some painkillers?"  
  
Pietro nodded for him, knowing Todd would refuse them, "Just grab them, he will take them."  
  
Before he entered the kitchen he turned, "'tro do you need anything, have you two eaten? Especially you." This last part was said pointedly to Pietro.  
  
"Not yet, we fell asleep at the motel and then came straight back here."  
  
Lance nodded as he ducked into the kitchen, "I'll bring you the painkillers and then make some dinner we could all use it, my debriefing was not pleasant."  
  
A few minutes later he reemerged carrying a glass of water, three vials, and 3 little white pills. Setting it all in front of Pietro he handed Todd the three painkillers and the blue vial, handed Pietro the red one, and left the green one for himself. "Magneto left these, we're supposed to down them, next time he comes he's taking blood samples, so we can't get out of it."  
  
Popping his three pills Todd raised the vial and with a sarcastic tone said, "Cheers, and bottoms up."  
  
Together the three brotherhood members drained the foul looking liquids shuddering at the taste, Lance recollected the vials and dropped them in the trash, and then set to making dinner.  
  
Todd relaxed against Pietro the pills doing their work and they talked to Lance through the open doorway, gulping some of the water to get rid of the nasty taste in his mouth Pietro turned towards the kitchen, "So Sally Homemaker what are you making for dinner?"  
  
Both Lance and Pietro smiled when they heard Todd laugh softly at the phrase, "Not telling, and if you call me that again I swear I'll make you cook, and I know none of us want that."  
  
Pietro held up his hands in mock surrender, "Never!! It would be horrible if we all died from food poisoning, my cooking is not my best quality."  
  
Finally from his lap there was a comment, "Oh, you mean to say you have one?"  
  
Lance laughed as Pietro put a hand over his heart with a fake look of hurt on his face, "Oh Love, you wound me! My stellar looks are of course my best asset."  
  
"Pietro if that ego gets any bigger I swear I am coming in there and popping it."  
  
"Fine, fine if you two want to deny my vast superiority in looks then I will let you live in your little worlds of denial."  
  
As Lance threw some things from the kitchen together he thought about how easy it was to throw his mask back up when those two got home, they still meant more to him then his Lord did so he would do anything for them, even if it meant portraying someone who was whole when he was in pieces.  
  
Quickly Lance dished up some of the lasagna he had reheated from the other night, even reheated it was still pretty damn good. Carefully balancing the three plates he walked back out to the living room carefully setting them down on the coffee table in front of Pietro and Todd.  
  
"You two start eating, I'm going to grab us some soda's and I'll be right back, any preferences?"  
  
Swallowing the huge bite he had already stuffed in his mouth Todd looked up, "Lime please."  
  
Lance glared at Pietro as he fiddled with the food, "regular coke." "I'll go get them, and Pietro I expect you to eat some of that lasagna, Todd, could you please make sure your boyfriend actually gets some real nutrients into his body?"  
  
Todd nodded as he continued eating, he turned one eyes to the boy next to him who was scowling at the full plate in front of him. Sighing Todd picked up his fork and scooped some lasagna onto it, he held it up to his mouth, "'Tro, eat."  
  
When Lance came back out he nearly laughed at the sight of Todd sitting on the couch feeding Pietro from his plate, "That's the way Todd, you certainly have him under....."  
  
The sudden ringing of the doorbell cut off the middle of Lance's sentence, he paled slightly worrying his Lord had come back for some reason.  
  
Both Todd and Pietro were having similar trains of thought and glanced nervously at the door. Suddenly they heard a feminine voice, "Lance, Pietro, Todd? Are you in there?"  
  
Sighing in relief Lance let himself relax and smile at the other two as he called out, "Yeah, Mystique, we're here, I'm coming."  
  
Setting down the sodas he jogged over to the door opening it with a slight smile, "Hey Mystique, I just heated up some lasa...." He stopped suddenly and his smile disappeared as he saw the two X-men standing behind her. Immediately his expression shuddered and his eyes closed down like ice.  
  
He nodded at the two avoiding eye contact, "Wolverine, Storm, this is a surprise."  
  
Stepping back from the doorway Lance looked between the five mutants on the doorstep, "Mystique would you care to explain why you've brought two X-men, that hate us, to our doorstep? Especially when we have other things that we would rather be dealing with."  
  
Mystique stepped into the boarding house gesturing for Storm and Wolverine to follow her. Entering the living room she watched as Todd looked up and immediately tensed as he caught sight of Wolverine entering behind her. Unconsciously he tried to snuggle down into Pietro's side. Pietro wrapped one arm around him and glared, "What the hell is going on and why are there two X-Geeks here?!"  
  
Todd whimpered next to him at the harsh tone and as he accidentally put pressure on one of his bruises, he was still remembering his first encounter with the X-man who was currently standing in front of them growling at them.  
  
Logan's eyes widened as he his nose picked up some scents he'd rather not be smelling, he could smell fear rolling off the smaller mutant, and in slightly lower levels off the other two. There was also the scent of fresh blood on Avalanche and Todd, and....and stale sex on the same two.  
  
He had thought that Mystique had been making up the whole story, he still suspected her of lying to them, so he kept glaring at the three, not quite ready to believe they were entirely innocent in the situation.  
  
Smoothing out his features as he entered the room Lance took a seat on the couch, and nudged Pietro softly, "Give him here, you're hurting him."  
  
Pietro instantly looked contrite and muttered soft apologies to the youngest brotherhood member next to him as he gently let him go.  
  
Lance put out his arms and Todd sought out his comforting presence, gently Lance wrapped his arms around Todd and lifted him into his lap much like a father would do for their child. He rocked him gently as he shivered and paled; Wolverine had frightened him into a relapse.  
  
"Shhh, they're not going to hurt you, I won't let them, everything is okay, calm down, shhh, no one's going to hurt you...."  
  
He continued whispering the words all three of them successfully ignoring the X-men who were wearing shocked looks at what Lance was doing.  
  
Once Todd was calmer, his breathing a little more regular Pietro and Lance both looked at the two Acolytes and Mystique, "Alright, what is going on? You know that Magneto is going to be pissed if he finds out that you allowed two X-men in here. You also know he won't take it out on you three, he'll take this shit out on us. "  
  
Logan growled under his breath at the three brotherhood members on the couch, especially Lance and Pietro "Listen kid...."  
  
Pietro cut in before he could finish, "NO, you listen, you've already made it abundantly clear that you can't be bothered by us. We're just Magneto's fuckups of course."  
  
Mystique shut up the scowling Wolverine as Pietro collapsed on the couch next to Lance, turning into his side. Lance took one arm and wrapped it around his thin shoulders glaring at the people standing in front of him. "Leave" he spat "You've not only managed to send Todd into another relapse, which it will take us days or weeks to get him out of, you've also managed to send Pietro into a spiral. Are you happy with your success now?"  
  
Gambit stepped up and looked down at the earth mover, speaking softly, "We saw cher'"  
  
"Saw what, when, there was nothing to see." Nervously Lance looked at him as Pietro tuned back into the conversation. Turning quickly to him Lance gently placed Todd in his arms, "Take him upstairs and lay down with him, you know what will happen if he has a nightmare and no one's there."  
  
Nodding Pietro took the smaller mutant upstairs, figuring he would get the full story from either the Acolytes, Mystique, or Lance.  
  
"We saw wha' Magneto, tha bastard, did ta ya this afternoon cher." Stepping forward he pulled down the collar of his shirt exposing the band of metal around his neck, "We saw this, mon cher."  
  
Lance ripped away from Gambit glancing behind him to make sure Pietro hadn't suddenly appeared on the stairs, "You saw nothing." He hissed at the party, "Now I suggest you leave before you regret coming."  
  
Mystique moved forward catching his face between her hands and speaking softly, "If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for Todd and Pietro, they're not getting better, Xavier can help them. But they will never leave without you. For them, come with us."  
  
Looking into her eyes Lance knew she was right, but his Lord would never let him go, "My lord would not allow it, take them, protect them, heal them, I have to stay, I am merely a broken toy now, they still have a chance...."  
  
She cut him off harshly, "NEVER! They will stay even it results in their death if you do not come, who is more important, Magneto or your family?"  
  
He debated it silently, a little while longer and he probably would have answered his lord, but Todd and Pietro were still his priority, they were why he was a toy, and a broken one.  
  
With a nod Lance looked at the two X-men, "We will come, I expect nothing from you, I am past repair, but if you dare to hurt either of them you will regret it. Despite what you think we are very deadly, we have simply never wanted to kill you."  
  
Storm looked into eyes that had seen too much for a child, they looked as though they belonged on someone who had lived their life, and a hard one at that. She shivered at the blankness in them but covered it with a soft smile, "Why don't you go tell them and gather your things, we will leave immediately."  
  
He stood quickly and headed for the stairs, Wolverine followed closely behind him. Lance stopped at the first door and opened it slowly, he stepped inside and saw Pietro open his eyes on the bed as he held a sleeping Todd. Logan glanced at the shelves covering the walls, he was shocked at what he saw, photos, paintings, and drawings covered almost every inch of the room. The sheer onslaught of the emotions was a stunner; he hear Lance address the two on the bed, "Pietro, pack your guy's stuff, the X-men have offered us a place to stay for awhile and I'll be damned if either of you is going off on another mission."  
  
Pietro sat up his eyes widening in shock and then narrowing into a glare, "You're coming right? We aren't leaving if you don't come."  
  
Logan saw the struggle going on inside Lance as he debated his answer, "I...I'll come, just pack your stuff, you better take whatever stuff Todd is working on, you know which ones are important to him. You better grab your stuff as well, especially whatever books you have right now. You know when he comes back he will destroy anything that's left."  
  
Pietro nodded and climbed off the bed carefully pulling paintings off the wall and stacking them on the bed; debating which ones to leave.  
  
Turning, Lance left the room and headed further down the hall, he hesitated when he felt Wolverine following him, "If you would go back downstairs, we will be only a few minutes, I need to grab a few things."  
  
Wolverine scowled at the teen, "If you think I'm letting you three up here by yourself, you're sadly mistaken bub.." Walking past the teen he reached for the door at the end of the hall, he felt a hand on his arm, "Please don't, no one is allowed in, Lord Magneto will be furious if he finds out....."  
  
"Either unlock it or I'm opening it myself."  
  
Shaking Lance pulled the key from the necklace around his neck slipping into the lock and unlocking the door. Wolverine shoved it open and stepped inside, he was immediately overpowered by the smells rolling off the room, fear, pain, arousal, blood, sex... looking around it looked like some had splashed rust colored paint on the walls and the floor. Looking closer he realized what it was with his eyes widening, blood, and quite a lot of it.  
  
The whole time Lance had quickly been gathering up his few clothes and possessions, he grabbed his copy of Crime and Punishment, the guitar he had hidden in the bottom of the closet, and a few of the other books, carefully tucking it all into a bag he walked out of the room, "I've got everything; Sir."  
  
Turning Logan saw a pale Lance holding a bag thrown over his shoulder, "Is that all?" Logan hadn't meant to speak so harshly but he watched as the boy lowered his eyes to the floor and nodded, carefully turning around and walking back downstairs.  
  
At the bottom of the stair Pietro stood with three bags, two bags for his and Todd's stuff and one of just his books and Todd's paintings. Lance quickly walked into the kitchen and pulled a small can out from under the sink, pulling out the money inside he quickly counted it and stuffed it in his pocket, it would be enough to get them by for awhile; at least until he could find another job, he had good references.  
  
Pyro had picked up Todd who had unconsciously whimpered and tried to squirm away, quickly Lance returned from the kitchen and stopped in front of St. John (A/N:What is Pyro's first name? HELP!) and sweeping the smaller mutant out of them. Todd sighed and snuggled into Lance's chest as the members of the brotherhood left the life they had known for an uncertain future. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
Lance and Pietro threw all of their bags in the bag of his jeep, quickly making one more sweep through the house to make sure they had gotten everything they wanted. When they were satisfied they headed back out and Lance climbed into the driver's seat, gunning the engine.  
  
The X-men were already sitting in the X-van along with Mystique and the two Acolytes since there wasn't enough room for them in Lance's jeep. They drove off with the three brotherhood members close behind. Inside the X-van the five adults were holding a conversation, "I didn't make up anything, I might have under exaggerated the extent of the situation, but it was all true."  
  
Storm looked at the shape changing mutant and nodded, her eyes sad, "I had hoped...... but I will call McCoy and tell him to get the infirmary ready for Todd, and some rooms set up."  
  
"Ya betta' get that infirmary ready for two, Lance is about ta collapse, takes tha' pain rather well." Gambit told her bitterly, "All they need is two rooms, ain't no point in splittin' 'em up too much when they'll just endup in the same room anyway."  
  
Logan remained suspiciously quiet the whole ride to the mansion, his eyes still glowed with suspicion, but he knew better then to comment, Storm was scary when she got pissed.  
  
Pulling up to the mansion Logan quickly typed in the code for the gate and drove around to the back, where a entrance straight into the infirmary lay. Shutting of the vehicle all of the adults quickly climbed out and watched as Lance carefully picked up Todd out of the back of the jeep, murmuring things to him as they walked to the infirmary.  
  
Once they entered they saw the Professor and Hank waiting for them, the Professor smiled when he saw the three walk in, "I'm glad you decided to come, do any of you need medical attention?"  
  
Lance and Pietro looked at eachother, and then Lance sighed, "Todd probably needs some more painkillers, if not now, soon, and some bandages for his wrists, the other things we will have to tend to. Pietro also needs some food..." he cut off the speed demon's impending protest with a look, "he hasn't eaten nearly enough yet."  
  
The Professor nodded and then looked at the tall teen with knowing eyes, "What about yourself Mr. Alvers?"  
  
"Later."  
  
With that Lance laid Todd on the table, and whispering to him, "Todd, I need you to wake up okay, it's time now."  
  
Todd's eyes fluttered open as he looked from Lance to Pietro, "What happened?" he croaked out, his throat dry.  
  
Pietro stepped in running a had through soft brown hair, "You had a relapse, Love, can you take off your shirt so McCoy can see your wrists and chest, Lance and I will take care of everything else."  
  
With help the smaller mutant sat up on the table and nodded, looking pleadingly at Pietro with his eyes, understanding Pietro stepped up and gently helped him take off the large long sleeve shirt.  
  
McCoy stepped forward suddenly and Todd instinctively flinched back on the table, closing his eyes, Pietro grabbed his hand, "It's just Dr. McCoy, Love, open your eyes, he's just going to bandage your wrists."  
  
Looking slightly annoyed at himself Todd opened his eyes and watched as McCoy gently and slowly reached out and grasped his wrist in furry hands and inspected the torn skin. He gently smears some antibacterial and healing lotion on each one and wrapped them in some cotton bandages.  
  
Noting that Todd looked a little more secure Lance leaned to him, "Can Dr. McCoy take a look at your other injuries, we'll be right here, I promise."  
  
The smaller mutant on table had wide eyes as he nodded slowly and buried his head in Lance's chest, as Pietro ran a soft hand over his head.  
  
Pietro looked at the assembled party who were still in the room, "It would be best if you leave, it is unusual that Todd will let anyone but us heal him, I don't want to screw it up."  
  
Nodding the three X-men were first to leave with the Professor throwing a look at them that promised a talk later.  
  
Mystique and the Acolytes left behind them each voicing that they were there if any of the three wanted to talk.  
  
Once they were gone McCoy walked up and laid a hand on Todd's shoulder, the young mutant tensed and then you could feel him forcing himself to relax. After he had, Pietro ad Lance gently pulled off the large pair of sweat pants exposing the damage.  
  
"Oh dear God...." Beast breathed as he saw the black and purple bruises covering his hisps and thighs, the red welt marks on the inside if his thighs from fingernails and various bite marks.  
  
Lance's voice snapped him back to reality, "Could you hurry up.....please."  
  
Beast quickly and gently smeared some antibiotic gel on the welts so they wouldn't get infected and then covered them in some lightweight bandages, as well as the bruises on his hips.  
  
Stepping back he placed the supplies on a cart, "All done."  
  
With that Pietro and Lance quickly coaxed Todd into a pair of loose sweatpants and a large t-shirt. "Where can they lay down?"  
  
"Right down the hall is a room with some beds, they're welcome there."  
  
Just as the three were about to leave the room the Professor, Wolverine, and Mystique re-entered the room, the Professor spoke, "Lance, can you stay behind?"  
  
He stiffened and nodded shifting Todd's weight entirely to Pietro, "Catch some winks with him, if he wakes up then you know what to do, you have his stuff in his bag."  
  
Pietro nodded glaring suspiciously at the adults before moving down the hallway.  
  
Mystique closed the door behind them and turned around, "Lance will you let Beast look at your injuries?"  
  
Knowing this was coming he sighed and looked at the floor, "I really am fine, must we do this?" it was said in a nearly pleading tone, his eyes not leaving the floor as he spoke. He didn't want them to see what a disobedient person he was, his punishment was visible, but saying no to those with power was not exactly easy when he was again by himself.  
  
"Yes, Lance disrobe, Beast needs to treat you." Mystique nearly broke when he simply nodded and started pulling off clothes, his face never meeting anyone in the room.  
  
His shirt was dropped to the floor and the small intakes of breath told him they saw the injuries, his eyes never left the floor, they had found out how disobedient he was, it was his fault.  
  
The Professor cringed internally as he looked over the teen; his chest was covered in old and new bruises, scars, and fresh cuts. On each of his sides there was five vertical scars running down and disappearing into the low slung pants that hung around his waist.  
  
Logan stepped forward and looked at the marks, they reminded him of an enemy of his, running his fingers over the scars he missed the flinch that passed on Lance's face. "Now what are these from?"  
  
When there was no answer Logan stepped back and asked again in a harsh gruff tone, "Tell me Rocky!"  
  
Lance's eyes dimmed as he seemed to curl in on himself as he stood there, pulling to somewhere he couldn't be hurt; the sounds, the smells, the hands were dragging back the memories of the first and only time he had previously disobeyed Magneto.  
  
Flashback  
  
Lance stood in front of Magneto at his base and tried not to shrink under his gaze, he had disobeyed direct orders, and he knew his punishment was not going to be pleasant.  
  
"Rocky, you belong to me, you do not disobey me." Magneto said in a silky voice underlined with a coat of steel anger. Stalking up he grabbed Lance's face hard enough to bruise, "Explain your failure. Now."  
  
"It wasn't possible Sir, there were to many people around for me to grab the target, I thought it best to retreat."  
  
"Did I tell you to retreat?"  
  
"No Sir. However......"  
  
"You do not do anything without my permission, you do realize that you will be punished for this inadequacy, correct Rocky?"  
  
Lance hunched himself over, "Yes Lord Magneto, what am I to do?" He hoped it wouldn't hurt to badly.  
  
A dark chuckle and a vicious smirk emerged from Magneto as he grasped Lance at the neck with one hand leading him towards a large metal door in the wall, with a gesture the door swung open and he was pushed inside, stumbling he heard the door slam shut behind him.  
  
An intercom came on from somewhere, "You're allowed to play as much as you like, but no permanent maiming, broken bones, etc. You will regret it if he is broken."  
  
"Rocky" Lance looked up from the floor as he heard his name, "I expect you to behave, and be a good toy, any rebellion and I will be very disappointed." He could hear the veiled threat behind the words so he simply nodded and replied, "Yes, my Lord."  
  
With a final "Have Fun." Magneto's voice disappeared and Lance heard footsteps appear quickly behind him and large hands reached out and dragged him to his feet against a large hard body; "Hmmmmm, you truly do look tasty, I will have to thank Magneto for something new to play with."  
  
Lance worked out who it was and stuttered, "Sab..b..er..t..too..oth?"  
  
A small purr and a mouth at his ear, "Call me Sir, I do believe you are mine for the night."  
  
And Lance's real hell had begun.....  
  
When Magneto came to collect him in the morning immediately pulled the teen into another room and bandaged the wounds, "I'm sorry Rocky, but you had to be punished, it won't happen again will it?"  
  
He looked up with dead brown eyes, "No my Lord, I won't ever disobey you again."  
  
And he wouldn't, if Lord Magnet told him to jump in the ocean and see if he could breathe underwater he would of done it.....  
  
End Flashback  
  
Lance felt hands trying to draw him out of his world and he immediately backed away against the wall and slid down to the floor whispering brokenly as Logan just looked from his hands to the teen, "No more, so sorry, no more Sabertooth, good boy, be good, no toy, please no Sir......"  
  
Mystique glared at the other mutant as she approached the boy her hands open and crooning in a soft voice that one would use with an injured animal, gently she settled next to him wrapping he in her arms, "No hurt, Lance is good, no more Sabertooth, shhhhh...."  
  
Soon the boy fell into an exhausted sleep and Beast gently laid him on the table so they could treat him.  
  
Looking at the scars he sighed, "Obviously we know how these came around, and Logan I would advise that you not approach him like that again."  
  
Mystique stalked forward and stood in front of him, "If that happens again because of you I will personally eviscerate you and enjoy every moment of it." In those moments the assassin could clearly be seen in her eyes as she looked at the feral mutant.  
  
Logan nodded and made no comment and retreated to one wall, leaning against it with his arm's crossed, he apparently had some things to consider. As much as he hated to admit it he found himself admiring and feeling a tug in his heart for the three brotherhood members.  
  
He had a thing about kids losing their childhood, and all three probably didn't even know what a normal childhood was supposed to be, they had grown up to quickly and in far too many ways that they should have never had to.  
  
Following the scars McCoy noticed the dark green marking and tugged down the pants slightly to get a better look, his eyes darkened as he took both it and the words impressed on the collar in "Professor I think you might want to take a look at this." At that moment he fully wanted to live up to his code name of Beast and beat the bloody hell out of Magneto.  
  
The professor came over and looked at the markings on Lance's hip and the property mark on the collar, "Oh Erik, what have you become?" He thought as he ran his fingers over the extensive wrapping of vines that formed initials.  
  
"The most recent wounds are on his back." Mystique spoke softly not wanting to wake him.  
  
Nodding Beast gently rolled him over observing the continuing litany of scars as he treated and bandaged the dark welts rising on his skin, along with the very abraded wrists and ankles.  
  
As he finished Lance pulled himself back to consciousness, he had a lot of practice at it thanks to Magneto. He stiffened as Beast moved away and then pulled himself up only wincing slightly at the pain shooting up his back; hesitantly he looked at the others in the room, gauging their reactions.  
  
The Professor was the first to speak in a serious voice, "Lance, you and the other two are never going back there; you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. Storm has already prepared two rooms for you three."  
  
He nodded as he looked at Mystique for confirmation, "Stay Lance, you are better then Magneto, stay for your brothers."  
  
Finally he looked hesitantly to Logan drawing in on himself at the anger that seemed to pour off the mutant; thinking it was directed at him he acted like he had with Lord Magneto when he was angry. He turned his eyes to the floor, slumped his shoulders in submission, and wrapped his arms around himself before answering, "I..I don't want to b..be th..he ca..ause of dissension. It wo...ould be best if I lef..ft?"  
  
The last part sounded more like a question then a statement hoping someone would dispute his statement. The Professor looked at Logan his face creasing in a frown Logan, you are not helping, he is already afraid of you, your anger is only making him withdraw further  
  
Looking at Lance Logan could see that the Professor was right and he tried to calm himself, "Nah Ro...kid, I think ya should stay, better for everyone."  
  
With that Lance looked up something appeared in his eyes that had been absent for far to long, hope. 


End file.
